WeWork’s Revenue Dips, Net Losses Increase to $888M
By Nicholas Rizzi August 13, 2021 11:30 am
reprints
WeWork’s revenue dipped in the second quarter — even as occupancy and desk sales increased — as its net losses jumped to $888.8 million.
The coworking giant’s revenues dropped from $881.7 million in the first quarter of last year to $593.4 million in the second quarter of 2021, according to its earnings report released Friday. WeWork has brought in a total of $1.19 billion in revenue so far as of the end June, a dip from the $1.9 billion it pulled in by the same time last year.
Meanwhile, WeWork’s net losses increased from $863.8 million in the second quarter of last year to $888.8 million in the second quarter of this year. Its total losses now stand at $2.9 billion as of June 30, a huge jump from the $1.04 billion in losses from the same time last year.
Despite the mounting losses, CEO Sandeep Mathrani struck an optimistic tone about the coworking company’s future as demand for flexible workspace continues to rise (though that could be hampered by the rise of the delta variant.)
“Regardless of how companies are thinking about the future of work, access to a space to collaborate, innovate, mentor and build culture remains critical,” Mathrani said in a statement. “WeWork’s broad spectrum of flexible solutions has made our value proposition more apparent than ever and we are well-positioned to provide companies around the world with the flexibility to adapt to the changing needs of the hybrid workforce.”
WeWork saw a total number of 98,000 desk sales in the second quarter, or 5.9 million square feet, an increase from the 87,000 sold during the first quarter, according to the earnings report.
And, despite many companies pushing back their return to the office, WeWork had its occupancy increase quarter over quarter from 48 percent to 52 percent, and now expects it to hit 57 percent by the end of the year.
The earnings report comes amidst a busy week for WeWork, which is in the process of going public through a special purpose acquisition company that would value it at $9 billion.
On Monday it announced it will form a $150 million partnership with brokerage Cushman & Wakefield to help tenants and landlords develop a flexible workspace strategy. The next day it unveiled plans to operate coworking outposts throughout sections of five Saks Fifth Avenue stores in the New York area.
Nicholas Rizzi can be reached at nrizzi@commercialobserver.com.
